St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-07-09
HE WILL HAVE A POLICY OF
HIS OWN

Many good people in this, section of
Louisiana are anxious to know what
will be the policy of Nichols, if he is
nominated and elected governor of this
State. They have heard it whispered
here and there that this man or that
will control his action in this section of
Louisiana and that we will have a
deputy governor for the Red river val
ley.
1t is safe to say that men who have
heard these charges and believe them
do not know Gen. Nichols personally,
nor have they given careful attention
to his career when chief magistrate OF
this State. Gen. Nichols, it need
his own, if nominated and elected gov
eruor of Louisiana. That he will seek
counsel and advice from the best men
in the State we cheerfully concedc, but
that there will be any dictation from
any source we emphatically deny.
Nichols is not made of clay, he is not
of the yielding stamp he will see to it
that good, strong effective policy is
adopted and carried out, and in doing
this he will naturally seek counsel and
advice from good men and good Demo
Gratis everywhere. But there will be no
rewarding of personal friends for their
political support, nor any overriding OF
the expressed will of the people.
General Nichols will, in a word, be
governor OF the people OF Louisiana.
Among the Democrats in this section
who are credited with the possession of
the power of dictatlon, in case General
| Nichols is nominated and elected gov
ernor, is Col. }. NJ. Hollingsworth, of
Caddo. The Times, as we have said
before, does not enter the lists to de-
fend Colonel Hollingsworth from any
charge He is one of the few men 10
Louisiana politics who can carry them
selves. He needs no newspaper car
riage in which to ride; he creates his
own momentum, moves forward on his
own lines, asks no quarter and expects
none. But we cannot forbear saying
that the history of his political life
does not bear out the charge of boss
ism and dictatorship. We have it from
no less authority than his own lips that
he never solicited an office for any one
from any governor of Louisiana in his
life that he never wrote IL letter to a
governor to influence an appointment
in his life; that he never sent tele
gram with such intent, and, further,
that he has never asked in bis life al
appointment of any official, Federal or
otherwise. at the hands of Honorable
\. c. Blanchard, member of Congress
from this district. Is there a promi
nent Democrat in north Louisiana who
can say as much Yet Colonel j. NJ.
Hollineswortl is the boss" the dicta-
tor. who is to run the Nichols govern
ment in north Louisiana
Such stuff is simply childish. Gen.
Nichols is man of the people; he is
not man of small coterie of friends,
and there is not citizen of this or any
other section of the State SO humble
that he will not be heard, and heard
attentively, by Francis T. Nichols
when in the governors chair of Loui
siana. The Houston bossism of this
State tot day will have no parallel under
Nichols, but we are free to say that if
it comes to a choice between the boss
ism of j. NJ. Hollingsworth and the
bossism of Jim Houston, the Times
wishes to be enrolled under the Hol
lingsworth banner.